Red Cross celebrates 100 years in Australia

Today the Australian Red Cross proudly celebrates the 100 year anniversary of people helping people in Australia, in capital cities and country towns across the nation.

Red Cross CEO Robert Tickner said today Red Cross was sharing this important milestone with generations of Australians. "Our legacy has been built by millions of people caring for others in times of need. The commitment of so many people over a century to act with compassion, to help vulnerable people through times of national and personal crisis, during wars and disasters, has earned Red Cross its trusted reputation," he said.

"Red Cross was born just days after the First World War broke out, and hundreds of thousands of volunteers signed up to raise funds, produce goods to send overseas and to care for the wounded. By the Second World War we had become Australia's largest charitable organisation.

"Part of the world's largest humanitarian movement, Red Cross has been there in times of crisis, big or small. Today, more than ever, we rely on generous public support to make sure we can be there for people in need for decades to come.

"Every single day Red Cross helps people from all walks of life, whether it's an Aussie kid going to school hungry, families protecting their homes from a bushfire, to isolated elderly Australians living alone. For just $1 a day generous Australians can help transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable people," Mr Tickner said.

On the eve of Red Cross' 100th birthday, the Governor General of Australia Sir Peter Cosgrove officially launched a Centenary history book, The Power of Humanity, at Government House Canberra. Book launches will take place in Adelaide (Thursday 14 August) and Sydney (Friday 15 August) with other cities to follow in the coming weeks.

Historian and author Professor Melanie Oppenheimer has spent years researching Red Cross, from our founding in war to our broad work in helping vulnerable people today. In this history, we pay tribute to the countless people who have so generously devoted themselves to Red Cross and whose everyday acts of humanity have provided protection and care to the lives of so many for a century.

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The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, with 191 member National Societies. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, our work is guided by seven fundamental principles; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. About this site & copyright